Installing Software Drivers

Software drivers are special programs that tell the computer how to communicate with and control a hardware device. Each device has a driver that enables it to communicate with the computer. The driver is written to operate only within a certain operating system. For instance, a Windows 98 driver installed for a particular piece of hardware will not work on Windows XP Professional.

CONFIG.SYS

A DOS or OS/2 file that contains special configuration settings in the form of line statements. The file is stored in the root of the C drive and is one of the key files read when an operating system boots.

Most software drivers are not usually generic in nature. Each piece of hardware contains unique components, and these components might not reside on a similar device, even if made by the same manufacturer. The software driver must communicate with that device to accurately interpret the instructions issued to the device from the operating system.

Some devices, such as the mouse, are generic in that most do not contain special features or chips that need customized instruction code. Therefore, changing your mouse is much easier than swapping out your sound card or replacing your printer without changing the device drivers.

Tip 

You might think of a software driver as the bridge between a piece of hardware and a specific operating system's software.

When you install a device, you should have the driver disk in hand and install it when the operating system prompts you. Operating systems such as Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 use Plug and Play to autodetect the presence of a new device and install the driver, provided they properly recognize the device. This is possible because these versions of Windows contain archives of the most common device drivers. You should install the latest device driver available for a particular operating system, because drivers are typically updated if incompatibility issues are reported.

Tip 

DOS-based drivers are loaded through a DEVICE= statement in the CONFIG.SYS file.